No. 211, 03 November 1993

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.
RUSSIA
YELTSIN CRITICIZES AUTHORITARIANISM IN GOVERNMENT. During a meeting
with the government President Boris Yeltsin criticized "authoritarianism"
in the executive branch and said he will fight the abuse of power
of some by his executive officials, Reuters reported on 2-November.
The president said that some officials even question the principle
of the separation of powers. Yeltsin praised the government of
Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin for supporting him and said
he would try to retain it after parliamentary elections. He stated,
however, that he was concerned about a split inside the government.
He called for the fullest investigation of the 3-4 October events
and for punishing those responsible for the bloodshed in Moscow
last month. -Alexander Rahr
ELECTION UPDATE. The leader of the Party of Russian Unity and
Concord, Sergei Shakhrai, has taken a leave of absence from his
post as Deputy Prime Minister to devote himself fully to his
electoral campaign, ITAR-TASS reported on 31 October. He urged
more consultations among democrats and centrists. The leader
of the bloc "Russia's Choice," Egor Gaidar, criticized disunity
among democrats and warned democrats of prematurely celebrating
victory over hard-liners. An opinion poll conducted in Moscow,
St. Petersburg and Samara, published in Segodnya on 30 October,
showed that 70-75% of those who intend to vote support the three
democratic blocs of Gaidar, economist Grigorii Yavlinsky and
St. Petersburg mayor Anatolii Sobchak. 15-20% want to vote for
pro-communist and nationalist blocs. -Alexander Rahr
SECURITY COUNCIL APPROVES DOCTRINE . . . After over a year of
debate and delay the Security Council approved Russia's new military
doctrine on 2 November. The doctrine had been scheduled to be
approved on 15 October, and the delay in its finalization may
have been due to last-minute deliberations and changes. There
has been speculation that the doctrine's approval represents
a concession by Yeltsin to military pressure. However, the draft
doctrine had been scheduled to be discussed in the Russian parliament
this fall, and opposition to it was likely to be substantial.
By not waiting until a new parliament is convened and going ahead
with approval by the Security Council Yeltsin has streamlined
the process and avoided wider public debate of his policies.
-John Lepingwell
. . . BUT ITS CONTENT REMAINS UNCLEAR. The new doctrine reportedly
runs to 24-pages, and specifies the political and military tenets
that are to determine Russian security policy. A draft doctrine,
heavily criticized in the West as reflecting conservative views,
was published in spring 1992, but the final draft is likely to
have toned down some of the controversial aspects of the draft.
Nevertheless, the doctrine reportedly specifies that Russian
forces will have to become more mobile in order to counter new
threats and instability along Russia's southern borders, as well
as the "traditional" Western threat. These provisions are likely
to cause concern in the "near abroad" states. The doctrine also
de-emphasizes the role of nuclear weapons. According to ITAR-TASS
and Interfax reports of 2 November, there is also a provision
allowing the use of the military "to protect the constitutional
system . . . as well as other vital interests of society" against
armed violence, which appears to run counter to the military's
stated preference for remaining apolitical and focusing on external
threats. -John Lepingwell
DRAFT CONSTITUTION SUBMITTED TO YELTSIN. The draft version of
Russia's new constitution has been handed to Yeltsin, Western
and Russian agencies reported on 2-November. An unnamed presidential
spokesman told an RFE/RL Moscow correspondent that the Constitutional
Assembly had completed its debate on the draft on 2 November.
The Constitutional Assembly, a body appointed by Yeltsin, had
finalized a draft of Russia's new constitution in July, but on
11 October its original five chambers were reorganized into two
and it had begun work on revising the draft. According to Yeltsin's
chief of staff, Sergei Filatov, Yeltsin will meet with local
leaders on 3 November to discuss the draft, and the final version
will be published on 12 November. -Wendy Slater
YELTSIN, CHERNOMYRDIN SAY MORE ATTENTION SHOULD BE PAID TO REGIONS.
At the expanded session of the Council of Ministers on 2 November
Yeltsin named regional policy as a weak spot in the activity
of federal executive power, ITAR-TASS reported. He said that
it was not surprising that the subjects of the federation tried
to solve matters themselves by raising their status, and that
it would be naive to see this as nothing but the ambition of
local leaders. Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said at a press
conference after the session that the most important question
with which the government had to deal was regional policy. He
stated that further steps would be taken to transfer more powers
to the periphery. This softer approach seems to have been dictated
both by the objections of the republics and regions to proposed
changes in the draft constitution and by a need to undercut the
appeal of deputy premier Sergei Shakhrai's party, which is staking
its fortunes on regional support. -Ann Sheehy
SHAKHRAI WANTS JULY DRAFT CONSTITUTION SUBMITTED TO REFERENDUM.
Shakhrai reiterated in St. Petersburg on 1 November that he thinks
that the draft of the constitution approved by the constitutional
assembly in July should be the one voted on in the referendum,
ITAR-TASS reported. Shakhrai expressed disapproval of recent
moves to tamper with the national-state structure of the Russian
Federation and also the relationship between the president, government,
and parliament, which the constitutional working group has been
engaging in. -Ann Sheehy
REPUBLICS WILL DEFEND THEIR RIGHTS. The leaders of several republics
have stated that they will object to proposed amendments to the
draft constitution affecting their status at the meeting with
Yeltsin in Moscow on 3 November. The chairman of the Bashkortostan
parliament Murtaza Rakhimov said in Ufa on 2 November that the
republics "will not retreat" from the right they have gained
to be sovereign republics, Interfax reported. The chairman of
the North Ossetian parliament Akhsarbek Galazov stated before
flying to Moscow that he would insist that the federal treaty
be included in the constitution. Similarly, the president of
Kabardino-Balkaria, Valerii Kokov, said that he would defend
the rights of the sovereign republics and that he was against
equalizing the status of the regions with that of the republics.
-Ann Sheehy
CHECHEN GOVERNMENT OBJECTS TO INCLUSION OF CHECHNYA IN RUSSIA
IN DRAFT CONSTITUTION. The Chechen government of national trust,
headed by Yaragi Mamodaev, has sent a letter to the constitutional
arbitration body of Russia requesting a legal judgment on attempts
to include Chechnya in the Russian constitutional sphere, ITAR-TASS
reported on 2-November. The letter claims that from the point
of view of international law Chechnya has never been part of
Russia; it was seized, and that seizure was never legally regularized,
even for pro forma's sake. Chechen president Dzhokhar Dudaev
does not recognize Mamodaev's government, but Dudaev and Mamodaev
agree that Chechnya's relations with Russia should be on a confederal
basis. -Ann Sheehy
RUSSIA-FRANCE TALKS. On 2 November in Moscow talks were held
between Yeltsin, Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, and French
Prime Minister Edouard Balladur. Kozyrev highlighted the special
relationship between France and Russia and said that the French
side cannot imagine European security and political integration
without Russia. In the talks, the subject of Russia's new military
doctrine and Russia's worries about the rights of ethnic Russians
in the Baltic states were raised. Kozyrev said that talks with
the Baltic states' leaders were being prepared, but claimed that
these talks would be conditional on the resolution of issues
linked to the rights of Russians and the withdrawal of Russian
troops, Western and Russian agencies reported. -Suzanne Crow
TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
YELTSIN INTERVIEW ON NATO. In an interview with the Hamburg weekly,
Stern, released on 2 November, Yeltsin said that Russia is prepared
to do its part in realizing the "partnership for peace" concept
for delaying the expansion of NATO to Eastern Europe as elaborated
by NATO in October. Yeltsin said the main current danger for
Europe is the presence of ethnic conflicts. He argued that an
extension of NATO would not solve these problems. Yeltsin also
offered Russia's boilerplate formula that these states have the
right to determine their own security needs, and Russia respects
this right. -Suzanne Crow
SHEVARDNADZE DECREES DEATH PENALTY FOR LOOTERS. Georgian government
forces fought their way into the town of Khobi late on 2 November
after subjecting it to heavy artillery bombardment, Interfax
reported. Also on 2 November, six warships from the Black Sea
Fleet sailed from Sevastopol to defend the Georgian Black Sea
ports of Poti and Batumi, AFP reported. Georgian parliament chairman
Eduard Shevardnadze issued a decree ordering the death penalty
for persons found guilty of looting, marauding and pillage, Radio
Tbilisi reported. The Red Cross has withdrawn its team from Mingrelia
for safety reasons. -Liz Fuller
ARMENIA/AZERBAIJAN. On 2 November Azerbaijani President Geidar
Aliev established a Defense Council to counter "the extreme deterioration
of the military and political situation", Interfax reported.
He also appointed Colonel Nadzhameddin Sadykhov Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces. The Communist Party of Azerbaijan, which
self-liquidated in September, 1991, has held a reconstituent
congress in Baku, according to ITAR-TASS. In New York, Armenia's
Ambassador to the UN, Alexander Arzoumaniian, proposed that the
UN should establish an impartial body to assess claims for self-determination,
according to an RFE/RL correspondent. The chairman of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Defense Committee (the acting government), Robert Kocharyan,
has sent a memorandum to the UN Security Council denying that
his forces were responsible for the violation late last month
of the ceasefire agreement, AFP reported. -Liz Fuller
UZBEKISTAN CONSIDERS ECONOMIC UNION WITH KAZAKHSTAN. An Uzbek
foreign ministry spokesmen told a news conference in Tashkent
on 2 November that Uzbekistan was considering steps to integrate
its economy with neighboring Kazakhstan because of the "enslaving"
conditions attached by Russia to membership in the ruble zone,
Reuters reported. -Liz Fuller
CIS
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
START-1 REINTERPRETED AGAIN? THE NEW UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER,
VITALII RADETSKY, TOLD THE UNIAN NEWS AGENCY ON 29 OCTOBER THAT
THE START-1 TREATY "ENVISIONS THE LIQUIDATION OF 42 PERCENT OF
LAUNCH VEHICLES AND 36 PERCENT OF WARHEADS IN UKRAINE." This
statement appears to directly contradict reassurances given to
US Secretary of State Warren Christopher on his recent visit
to Kiev, when President Kravchuk affirmed that the START-1 treaty
and the Lisbon protocol covered all nuclear weapons in Ukraine,
presumably meaning that they would all be dismantled. Meanwhile,
the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministries again exchanged
charges on 28-29 October over responsibility and blame for blocking
the withdrawal of nuclear warheads. According to Interfax on
2 November, Deputy Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk restated the
Ukrainian position that no warheads would be returned to Russia
until it agreed to compensate Ukraine for the tactical nuclear
weapons. The Ukrainian foreign ministry estimates that the compensation
due Ukraine would total some $5-6 billion, almost half the amount
the US expects to pay Russia for the uranium extracted from the
weapons. -John Lepingwell
CROATIA LAUNCHES NEW PEACE INITIATIVE. Vecernji list on 3 November
runs the text of President Franjo Tudjman's new three-part peace
proposal aimed at ending the conflict in Croatia and Bosnia as
well as at settling other outstanding issues between the former
Yugoslav republics. It includes cultural and local political
autonomy for Croatia's Serbs under international supervision
together with a special human rights court. In a separate interview
with Croatian journalists, Tudjman stressed that Belgrade must
grant Serbia's Albanian, Hungarian, and Croatian minorities no
fewer rights than it claims for the Serbs in Croatia. Tudjman
repeated his long-standing position, accepted across the Croatian
political spectrum, that any settlement must be based on acceptance
of Tito-era republican boundaries and on Croatian sovereignty
within that republic's frontiers. Serbian and British media reports
suggested that by insisting on Croatian sovereignty Tudjman was
upsetting secret talks taking place in Norway. Tudjman is apparently
offering a package proposal as Croatia's position paper amid
efforts by international mediators to secure a comprehensive
settlement of the Yugoslav crisis. Such attempts are widely viewed
with suspicion in Croatia as an effort to resurrect a Yugoslav
state. -Patrick Moore
KOSOVAR PARTIES TRY TO FIND CONSENSUS ON ELECTION BOYCOTT. The
Kosovar Albanian newspaper Bujku has published an attack by the
Information Center of Kosovo against prominent intellectuals
Shqelcen Maliqi and Veton Surroi, Borba reports on 2-November.
Both men are willing to consider the possible participation by
Albanian political parties in the Serbian parliamentary elections,
scheduled for December, and have been allegedly called "Serbian
puppets" as a result. Surroi has expressed doubts about the political
effectiveness of the Kosovar strategy of boycotting Serbian public
life. Nonetheless, the major Albanian parties seem to have found
a consensus for boycotting the parliamentary elections. Parliamentary
Party Chairman Bajram Kosumi said "we have just one policy in
Kosovo," adding that there might be individuals but no "organized
political forces, which would be ready" to take part in elections.
The Social Democrats believe the boycott is "the political will
of the Albanian people, expressed by the referendum" for independence
in 1991, while the Peasants Party states that the "Albanians
in Kosovo have no reason to participate in the elections." Vecernji
list on 2 November reports that rump Yugoslav President Zoran
Lilic visited Pristina last week but found Albanian leaders unwilling
to talk until Albanian media and school rights are restored.
-Fabian Schmidt
PAWLAK GOVERNMENT SEEKS BUDGET DELAY. Meeting on 2 November,
Poland's new government resolved to ask the parliament to postpone
until 29-December the deadline for submission of the draft budget
for 1994, PAP reports. The statutory deadline is 15-November,
but the new cabinet called this timetable unreal. The cabinet
also reviewed 37 of the 55 pieces of draft legislation submitted
to the Sejm by Hanna Suchocka's outgoing government and resolved
to resubmit most of them, including a copyright protection bill
and five of the six bills comprising the "pact on state firms"
negotiated with the trade unions in 1992-93. But, in a suggestive
display of the new government's economic priorities, the cabinet
decided to withhold for revision the bill on the privatization
of state firms that is the heart of the "pact." A communique
indicated that this decision is linked with a "broad analysis
of privatization" to be undertaken by the cabinet. Education
Minister Aleksander Luczak said a pay raise for teachers is under
consideration, but not before 1994. The government elected not
to consider the plan for public administration reform bequeathed
by Suchocka nor the concordat with the Vatican. -Louisa Vinton
WINIECKI QUITS EBRD, PREDICTING DISASTER. The Polish economist
Jan Winiecki, who had represented Poland on the board of directors
of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development since
its creation in 1991, resigned on 2 November, PAP reports. "The
current government will bring about an economic catastrophe,"
Winiecki explained. "Under these conditions I see no possibility
to represent it in any forum." He predicted that pressure from
voters for the fulfillment of campaign pledges will force the
new government gradually to raise the budget deficit and relax
fiscal discipline, eventually destroying the gains achieved since
1989. Winiecki called the new cabinet "a government of national
catastrophe." Describing Winiecki's resignation as "a personal
decision," an EBRD spokesman said that the bank's further cooperation
with Poland depends on the new government's economic program.
-Louisa Vinton
UPHEAVAL IN SOLIDARITY. Solidarity's national leadership met
on 27 October in Gdansk for the first time since the elections.
The meeting was held behind closed doors, and the turmoil caused
by the union's poor showing-Solidarity fell below the 5% Sejm
threshold-was clear. Deputy Chairman Janusz Palubicki resigned
in belated protest against the union's no-confidence motion in
May, which brought down the government and prompted early elections.
Palubicki said Solidarity had failed to consider the likelihood
that new elections would produce a government less friendly to
the unions. The union leadership resolved to scrutinize carefully
measures taken by the new, "postcommunist" government and demanded
the implementation of agreements reached with the ousted government.
It also warned against a search for scapegoats within the union
and cautioned against unauthorized contacts with political parties.
The union's spokesman also issued a statement objecting to the
use of the term "Solidarity governments" to describe Poland's
first four non-communist governments. -Louisa Vinton
TOP SLOVAK OFFICIAL DIES IN CAR CRASH. Roman Zelenay, Vice Chairman
of the ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia and a close
associate of Premier Vladimir Meciar, died in a car accident
on 1 November, TASR reports. The Interior Ministry says the car
in which Zelenay was traveling to Germany crashed into a parked
van on the Brno-Bratislava motorway near the village of Lanzhot
in southern Moravia. The car's driver and one female passenger
were seriously injured in the accident. The 41-year-old Zelenay,
who was among Meciar's key allies in the drive for Slovakia's
autonomy, held the post of state secretary at the Ministry of
Culture. Recently he stirred controversy by preventing the signing
of an agreement on the creation of a Euroregion between Slovak,
Polish, and Hungarian districts and by proposing the creation
of an Information Ministry. After Alexander Dubcek, Zelenay is
the second high-ranking Slovak official to die in a car accident
in the past two years. -Jan Obrman
DLOUHY SIGNS TRADE AGREEMENT IN CHINA. Czech Industry and Trade
Minister Vladimir Dlouhy, who is on a two day official visit
to China, signed a trade and economic cooperation agreement with
his Chinese counterpart Wu-I, CTK reports on 2 November. Both
sides stressed their support for the "further development of
mutual trade in the spirit of the principles of a liberal trade
policy." Wu-I announced that she will send a delegation of Chinese
businessmen to the Czech Republic with the aim of expanding trade
relations, while Dlouhy pointed out the significance of the Chinese
market for Czech manufacturers. -Jan Obrman
HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER'S HEALTH IMPROVES. Radio Budapest reported
on 1-November that Prime Minister Jozsef Antall's medical condition
improved, and he will be able to return to Hungary at the end
of this week or early next week. Since 6 October Antall has been
hospitalized in Cologne, Germany, where he underwent a bone-marrow
transplant in order to cure his non-Hodgkin lymphoma gland cancer.
-Karoly Okolicsanyi
HUNGARIAN PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER. Arpad Goncz
sent a letter to Jozsef Antall concerning the recent escalation
of the so-called media war, MTI reported on 1 November. Goncz
wrote that because of recent personnel and program changes, Hungarian
radio and television are unable to fulfill their basic function.
In a vague call for action, the President also warned of danger
that voters will not be able receive free information during
the coming election if Antall does not fulfill his legal responsibility
to provide free information. Goncz did not elaborate. The letter
follows the opposition group the Democratic Charta's rejection
of the government's claim that the recent firing of radio and
television personnel happened without the knowledge of the government,
reported by MTI on 30-October. -Karoly Okolicsanyi
HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES TREATY WITH CROATIA AND SLOVENIA.
Friendship and cooperation treaties with two of Hungary's neighbors
were ratified on 2-November, Hungarian radio reported. The treaties
secure minority rights in all three countries. -Karoly Okolicsanyi
US RESTORES MFN STATUS TO ROMANIA. On 2-November US President
Bill Clinton signed the law restoring most-favored-nation trade
status to Romania. In a statement quoted by Western media, Clinton
said that the US move "reflects Romania's significant progress
thus far in rejoining the community of democratic nations." He
added that the preferential status "will also assist growth of
Romania's private sector and enhance our bilateral trading relations,
improving American access to one of our largest markets in Eastern
Europe." Romania enjoyed MFN status until 1988, when late President
Nicolae Ceausescu renounced it just as Washington was about to
suspend it over human rights violations. The US Congress was
for years reluctant to restore the preferential status to Romania
because of lingering concerns about human rights and the democratic
process in the former communist country. -Dan Ionescu
FORMER ROMANIAN PREMIER DENIES CHARGES OF CORRUPTION. Petre Roman,
who is currently a deputy in parliament and leader of the Democratic
Party-National Salvation Front, denied corruption allegations
against him and two of his former ministers, telling the Chamber
of Deputies on 2 November that he is willing to give up his parliamentary
immunity and to answer the charges in any court. Roman was accused
by Ioan Honcescu, chief of the current government's control commission,
of illegally assigning state-owned houses to friends and family
members during his term in office. Radio Bucharest quoted Roman
as describing Honcescu's report as "a typical Stalinist frame-up."
Traian Basescu, a former transport minister in Roman's cabinet,
accused the minority left-wing cabinet of Nicolae Vacaroiu of
resorting to "Bolshevik means" to divert public attention away
from Romania's real problems. Roman was Romania's first post-communist
premier, from December 1989 to September 1991. -Dan Ionescu
ROMANIAN INFANT MORTALITY HIGHEST IN EUROPE. A study released
by the governmental Institute for Research of the Quality of
Life says that infant mortality is rising again after a brief
decline, and more infants are dying in Romania than anywhere
else in Europe, Western agencies reported on 1 November. In 1992
infant mortality rose 3% to 23.4-per 1,000, while the average
rate for Europe (including other former Communist countries)
is just over 10 per 1,000. Romanian infant mortality has fallen
slightly since 1989, the last year of Communist rule, when it
was 26.9 per 1,000. Health ministry officials said last year's
rise is related to economic hardships caused by the transition
period. -Michael Shafir
BULGARIAN TRADE MINISTER ON ECONOMY. In an interview with Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung of 2-November, Trade and Deputy Prime Minister
Valentin Karabashev said the fall in production in 1993 appears
to be less dramatic than in previous years. He was quoting recent
economic statistics showing a 9.8% drop in output during the
first eight months of 1993. In 1991 and 1992 the annual decline
constituted around one fifth of total production, causing the
unemployment rate to rise above 16%. Karabashev warned that further
jobs would be lost as privatization eventually gains momentum.
He nevertheless disputed official figures indicating that more
than 90% of the economy remains state-owned, referring to the
fact that 40% of foreign trade and 60% of retail trade are currently
run by private entrepreneurs. Speaking about Bulgaria's need
to achieve a settlement with foreign banks on its $13 billion
debt, Karabashev said his government has been showing a maximum
amount of flexibility but that a deal must take "[economic] realities"
in his country into account. One week earlier, in a protest against
the cabinet's refusal to provide the Bulgarian delegation to
the London Club of creditors with a clear mandate, chief negotiator
Mariyana Todorova resigned. Todorova has been replaced by Finance
Minister Stoyan Aleksandrov. -Kjell Engelbrekt
UNEMPLOYMENT IN BELARUS. Data from the Vitebsk oblast government
shows that over 60,000 Belarusians have become unemployed this
year, Belarusian TV reported on 1-November. Over 10,000 are seeking
work through the official employment center, while the "invisible"
unemployment is estimated at 5% of the workforce, or close to
40,000 persons. -Ustina Markus
YELTSIN CAN DO NOTHING FOR TIRASPOL SIX. In separate letters
to Moldovan and Romanian presidents Mircea Snegur and Ion Iliescu,
Russian President Yeltsin wrote that "Russia has nothing to do
with the trial" of the six Moldovans charged with terrorism in
the "Dniester republic," local and Western media reported on
2 November. Yeltsin stressed that Russia does not have the means
to influence the case and that "the fate of Moldovan citizens
cannot be decided in Moscow." Three of the defendants face the
death penalty, and the other three face prison terms in the trial
which has been in progress since April. Snegur has appealed many
times to Yeltsin to intercede on the defendants' behalf, and
Iliescu has also done so recently for his own domestic political
reasons. -Vladimir Socor
PREPARATIONS IN ESTONIA FOR RUSSIAN ELECTIONS. Members of the
Otchestvo coalition have started to gather signatures in Narva,
a predominantly Russian town in northeastern Estonia, so they
can field their own candidate-Yuri Mishin, head of the Narva
League of Russian Citizens-for the Russian parliament, BNS reported
on 30 October. Baltfax reports on 2 November that the Estonian
government has allowed three polling stations-two in Tallinn
and one in Narva-for Russian citizens who want to take part in
the Russian parliamentary elections and that "by 1 November 40,250
persons had registered as Russian citizens in Estonia." -Dzintra
Bungs
KURDISH REFUGEES STILL USE THE BALTICS TO GET TO SWEDEN. Baltic
media report on 2 November that 28 refugees arrived on two rubber
boats at a Swedish island on 1-November. The refugees, who claim
to be Kurds, told the Swedish authorities they had been dumped
earlier from a larger ship-its registration is unclear-which
had set out from a port in Latvia. Last January and December
about 600 refugees, many of them Kurds, were smuggled from Estonian
and Latvian ports to Sweden. -Dzintra Bungs
RUSSIAN-LITHUANIAN SUMMIT ON 4 NOVEMBER? LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT
ALGIRDAS BRAZAUSKAS IS EXPECTED TO MEET RUSSIAN PRESIDENT BORIS
YELTSIN IN MOSCOW ON 4-NOVEMBER, INTERFAX REPORTED ON 2 NOVEMBER.
BNS also reported that Lithuanian representatives were already
coordinating the final wording of accords that are to be signed,
presumably during the summit meeting. -Dzintra Bungs
LATVIA READY TO HELP GEORGIAN REFUGEES. Baltic media reported
on 1 November that the Latvian voluntary emergency relief society
and the Georgian cultural association in Latvia have collected
about 5,000-lats worth or medicine, as well as clothing, for
the relief of refugees in Georgia. The groups, however, lack
the necessary funds to transport the donated aid to Georgia.
-Dzintra Bungs
[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Ustina Markus and Sharon Fisher
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